Academics/Academic Policies

The educational program is designed to meet the highest academic standards for high school students and professional standards for teachers and administrators. Students must take, at a minimum, the following college preparatory courses to graduate:

5 Years of English

4 Years of Science

4 Years of History/Social Studies

4 Years of Mathematics

3 Years of Spanish (or Spanish Reading and Writing for Heritage Speakers)

2 Semesters of Fine Arts

Engineering courses are offered and juniors and seniors may enroll in several different advanced placement (AP) courses. Each student has a challenging Individual Learning Plan which documents his or her academic, financial, and personal goals and outcomes. The school is a member of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) and offers varsity level sports in volleyball, soccer, and track and field, with more teams to be added over the next several years. Students are expected to participate in academic enrichment and remedial programs offered after school and during the summer to meet their academic needs and interests. All students are expected to participate in at least 20 hours of community service each year.

Grading and Promotion Policy

Grades for Carmen HS students represent their mastery of knowledge and content in the subject areas and the eight abilities. A student’s possession of content knowledge guides his or her success in applying the knowledge in performance assessments. In the course syllabus, teachers specify the expectations for a passing grade of A, B, or C, with a balance of homework, quizzes, tests and more complex performance assessments.

Students who receive grades below 73 percent or “C,” have not mastered the course material, and thus are required to re-do work until mastery is achieved.

Both content- and application-oriented assessments guide teachers in their work with students. For example:

Data from quizzes and tests provide information on a student’s content understanding. Students must achieve scores of at least 73 percent on a content-oriented quiz or test in order to receive a passing grade.

If a student does not meet the 73 percent score requirement, he or she is required to attend after school tutoring sessions and retake the quiz or test until he or she achieves a score of at least 73 percent.

Students also are required to revise their work on performance assessments that do not meet the minimum criteria for a passing grade, until the criteria are met.

Students must receive a passing grade of 73 percent (C) or higher in order to receive Unit credits for a course. Course credits are defined in Carnegie Units: 0.5 credits for every 60 hours of instruction. A student generally will receive 1.0 credit for a full year academic course that meets five times per week.

Academic Probation

Academic probation indicates that a student’s academic performance is less than satisfactory. A student placed on Academic Probation must attend after school, mid-year Inter-Session, and/or summer school sessions as recommended by the student’s Advisor and the Head of the School. Students who do not attend the recommended programs will not be promoted to the next grade level.

A student who frequently achieves scores lower than 73 percent on content-oriented tests or quizzes and/or does not meet the minimum requirements for a “C” on performance assessments in one or more courses, is put on “academic probation” and must remain in after school tutoring until he or she consistently demonstrates scores above 73 percent in first attempts at taking quizzes and tests.

Grade 9-12 Promotion Requirements

Students must earn three or more credits in academic “core” courses in English, mathematics, science, and/or history/social studies and one or more credits in electives (including foreign language, engineering, fine arts, and/or physical education) to be automatically promoted to the next grade level.

Students who fail one semester of a course must attend inter-session or summer school to receive 30 additional hours of instruction in the course and the chance to raise the failing grade to no higher than a “C.” Students who fail one semester in the fall will re-take the semester course or necessary academic tests and/or non-academic assessments during the mid-year intersession. Students who fail a semester in the spring will retake the course during summer school.

A student who fails the second semester of a sequenced course such as math or science may be required to repeat the entire year-long course. This decision will be based on the individual circumstances and feasibility of the students re-taking the two courses during summer school.

Transfer Student Credits

The Head of School has the authority to accept credits for courses in which a student received passing grades from schools where transfer students previously attended and apply them toward Carmen HS graduation requirements. Since transfer students did not have the opportunity to receive 30 hours of additional instruction time during inter-session or summer school at their prior schools, the Head of School has the discretion to accept credits for courses in which the student received grades of C-, D+, or D-.

The Head of School also has the authority to waive certain course requirements for transfer students on a case-by-case basis. This policy recognizes that transfer students are not always given the opportunity to take courses in all of the core content areas required by Carmen HS.

Graduating all students as critical thinkers and self-directed learners prepared for success in college, meaningful careers, community involvement, and family life.